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92 SMT007 MAGAZINE I FEBRUARY 2021 Feature by Pete Starkey I-CONNECT007 Although the Consumer Electronics Show is now over 50 years old, it has always happened on the other side of the world for me and I had never taken the opportunity to attend previous events. But CES 2021, being of necessity an all- digital experience, enabled me to visit online and get a glimpse of trends and technologies shaping the future. I was particularly interested to hear the opening keynote, discussing 5G as "the framework of the 21st century, the essen- tial tech of the present and the accelerated tech of the future." In this digital age, "technology" and "tech" seem to have become accepted as short-form for "digital technology," whereas in my per- sonal experience "5G technology" has involved design, manufacture, and performance con- siderations along with an understanding of the physical and electrical properties of materials for printed circuit boards and antenna arrays required to operate at millimetre-wave fre- quencies. So, this keynote offered a chance to look beyond the challenges of producing the hardware and see 5G technologies in a differ- ent dimension. Consumer Technology Association Presi- dent and CEO Gary Shapiro welcomed the Kick-off Keynote 5G as the Framework of the 21 st Century